Man-power



(No Moda.)

T. HILL.

MAN POWER.

ma' M nire STATES einen.

PATENT THOMAS HILL, OF TROY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES OOLBETH, OF KINNICKINNICK, WISCONSIN.

MAN-POWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,286, dated February 7, 1882.

Application led July 25, 1881.

To all whoml t't may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs HILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Troy, in the county ot' St. Groix and State ot' Wisconsin,

have made certain new and useful Improvements in Man-Powers, of which the following is a specilicatiom rlhis invention relates to that class ot' mechanism wherein human force is utilized as a 1o motive power; and it consists in an arrangement of levers and vtrcadles whereby the muscles of the legs, arms, and back are all brought -into play, and also in the manner of constructyingthe frame and wheels, as hereinafter shown.

I attain these objects by the use of the mechanism illustrated by the accompanying drawings,in which-` Figure l is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a plan View, of a hand-car for railroads with my improved power applied thereto; Fig. 3, a detached detail view of a part of the forward end of the frame, showing` the manner ot' pivoting the guiding-wheel frame; Fig. et, a detached perspective view of a portion ofthe upper part ofthe standards, showing the manner ot' attaching thetrailing-wheel frame thereto; Figs. 5 and 6, enlarged detail views of one of the wheels, showing'the mannerofconstructing it; Fig. 7, a side view of the system ot' levers, &c., showing a variation in the manner of constructing them 5 Fig. S, a detached perspective view of a portion of the treadles, showing a variation in the manner of connecting them.

This power may be applied to any desired mechanism-such as wood-sawing machines, fanning-mills, and otherlight machinery upon farms,&c., or to vehicles upon common roads; but for the purpose ofillustration I have shown it as attached to a hand-car upon a railroad, to which it is especially applicable.

A is the frame, and B B2 two wheels, having flanges in the ordinary manner to enable them to run upon the rail C.

D is an upright angular-shaped frame attached to the upper side of the frame A, in

which the main operating-lever E is pivoted, as shown.

F is a bar or rod connected by a yoke, a, and bolt b to the upper part of the frame D,

5o (see Fig. 4,) and running downward atan angle, and provided at the lower end with a suit- (No model.)

able flanged trailing-wheel, B3, adapted to run upon the opposite rail, O2, and serve as a support to keep the frame A and wheels B B2 in an upright position upon the track.

F2 is another bar or rod pivoted at F4 to the front end ofthe frame A, (see Fig. 3,) and running olf at .right angles to the frame A, and provided with a small wheel, B4, running upon the rail C2, ahead ofthe wheel B3,thetwo bars 6o Fl F2 being connected together by a bar, F3, so that they will always retain their respective distances apart.

Hand-cars with two large wheels upon one rail and one small trailing-wheel rigidly connccted to the frame of the large wheels, similar to the wheels B B2 B3, and frames and bar A F, and adapted to run upon the other rail to keep the carin a perpendicular position, are not new; but, so far as I am aware, the intro- 7o duction of the fourth wheel, B4, connected to the main truck by a swivel-joint, is new.

The wheel B3 prevents the car from tilting over toward the rail O2; but nothing will prevent its tilting over inthe opposite direction, in which event the wheel B3 will be lifted from the track, and then, when the car tilts back again, the llange of this wheel is liable to strike the tread ofthe rail O2 or fall down beyond it, and thus cause the car to run off the 8o track, so that great care is necessary in operating such cars to prevent accidents; but by allowing the wheel B4 a small amount of free play by the swiveled rod F2 the car may be tilted away from the rail C2 to a considerable 85 extent without lifting the wheel B4 from the track. Hence no danger exists from that cause.

G is a at plate connected to the frame A by four pivoted standards, c c2 c3 c, s0 that it may swing back and forth, and provided with 9o a seat, G2, and back-support G2, and connected to the main operatinglever E by a bolt, d, passing through a slot, e, in the lever E, so that when the operator, sitting upon the seat G2 with his back against the support G3, pushes the upper part of the lever E forward by the handles g g2 withv his arms, he also utilizes the muscles f his back to push the plate Gand lower part of the lever E backward, thereby gaining a great advantagein power, as well as Ioo relieving the arms from the whole strain. The lower end of the lever E is connected by a bent rod, h, to the lower parts of the two pivoted standards c5 c6, projecting down from the forward end of the plate G; and the standards c5 c are also connected by their lower ends to cranks H H2 upon a shaft, H2, by rods H4 H5, by which the motion of the lever E and plate G is communicated to the shaft H3. Foottreadles M M2 are attached to the outerends of the bent rod h, upon which the feet of the operator rest, to utilize the muscles of thelegs to assist in working the machine. Gear-wheel N and pinions N2 N3 connect the shaft H3 to the shaft of the rear wheel,B2. B y this simple arrangement the power of nearly all the muscles of the body is brought into action, especially those of the back, arms, and legs, and in a .way to get the greatest possible amount of work from them with the expenditure of the least possible amount of force.

The back-support G2 will be connected to the forward end of plate G by rods t" ft2, which are adjustable, so that it may be adapted to suit the length of arm, &c., of the operator. The treadles M M2 may also be made adjustable for the same purpose.

The rear pivoted standards, cS c4, it will be observed, are arranged with their lower ends forward of vtheir upper ends, so that the rear end of the plate Gl will fall during its backward stroke and rise during its forward stroke. Hencethe weight ofthe operator will assist the plate in its backward stroke, while in pulling the lever E backward the operator naturally raises himself from the plate, and thus prevents his weight retarding the return-stroke. These' rear standards, c2 c4, it will also .be observed, are pivoted at their lower ends below the frame A, so that a much greater curve ofthe rear end of the plate G is secured than at the forward end, so that the operator is raised and lowered to a less extent than he would be if the standards were shorter. The supports for the pivots of the lower ends of these standards consist of two braces, P P2, connected together at theirlowerjoints,and throughwhichthe standards are pivoted, and the rear braces, P2, are supported by two other braces, P2, so that a very strong light frame is formed.

P4 is a baggage-receptacle, seemed to the rear of the frames A and P3.

In this style of vehicle all the parts must be as light as possible, and at the same time be very strong and stiff. Hence I form the wheels B B2 B3 B4, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, with the tire of one single piece of sheet metal with the ange m crimped outward from its rim, while the inner rim, m2, is also crimped inward to stiEen the tire without adding to its weight.

The hub consists of two parts, u' a2, adapted to be drawn together by bolts t, while the spokes R are thrilled ot' gas-pipe and set at an angle to the sections of the hub, as shown, so that when the sections of the hub are drawn together the spokes will be drawn toward each other at the bottom and press outward upon the tire, and thus tighten allthe parts and hold them firmly together. A ring or packing of rubber, e, is placed between the sections n n2 of the hub to prevent moisture or dirt getting upon the axle at this point.

A brake, T, will be applied to the wheel B2 in any desired manner to control the movement of the car.

Fig. 7 shows a variation in the manner of constructing my power when it is desired to adapt it to two or more operators; buttheconstruction and operation arc substantially the same. By slight variations it may be applied to almost any mechanism requiring a light, easily-operated power.

The handles on the lever' E may be made adjustable, as shown at E in Fig. 1, to adapt it to the length of the arms of the operators.

Fig. 8 shows an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a pair of the treadles detached, showing a variation in the. manner of construct- Ving them, so that they may be adjusted to adapt them to di'erent-sized persons.

l. The combination and arrangement of the frame A D, lever E, plate G', and back-support G3, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination and arrangement ofthe frame A D, lever E, 'plate G", back-support G3, pivoted standards c c2 c3 c4, and treadles M M2, connecting-rods H4 H5, bent rod h, and crankshaft H H2 H3, whereby the power of the levers may be communicated to the mechanism it is desired to operate, substantially as set forth.

3. lhe combination and arrangement, with the frame A, wheels B' B2, and rigidly-held trailing-wheel B3,of the guiding-wheel B*,con nected flexibly to the frame A and axle of the wheel B2, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. rlhe combination and arrangement of the plate G', back-support G3, and adjustable tierods t" ft2, whereby the angle. of the back-sup port may be adjusted, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereot'I have hereunto set my IOO IOS

IIO

hand in the presence of two subscribing wit- WVitnesses: y

G. N. VooowARn, LoUrs FEEsER, Sr. 

